Softness And Sickness
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: To Ruby, it did not seem very many people went out of their way for Blake's sake, and she wanted to be someone special to her. She really liked Blake, probably more than just a friend liked a friend, and even more than a fan liked the creator of her favorite series. So why was Blake late today? [Sequel to Cat Ears And Coffee. Happy RWBY Tuesday!]


**The long-awaited (and long-overdue) sequel to Cat Ears And Coffee! Finally, it got its turn for posting, though I finished months ago. Based off booksandweapons AU, An Author and Her Fangirl. Check out her tumblr!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. The AU belongs to Dani.**

* * *

Softness And Sickness

It had been two weeks since Blake and Ruby had last met up.

Normally, they would try to see one another every weekend now and make their activities together more frequent.

Blake still remembered their last date, as she often dared to think of it as clearly and in-detail as though it had been yesterday.

They had met at the local cafe where Ruby had ordered Blake's tea for her ahead of time. They had eaten cake and pie and Ruby had watched her work on her writings for a time; whenever she recalled how concerned Ruby had gotten over Blake's shaking hands, the older girl still blushed furiously.

After the cafe, they had journeyed over to the gaming store where Blake had purchased a gift for her biggest fan, and then they spent some time at the local animal shelter; Blake had stopped by a few times since then to make sure the cats had gotten adopted.

Finally, they had gone to the dollar store and picked out one another little trinkets – Ruby's rose hair clip and Blake's purple cat ears – before Yang had arrived to pick up her sister.

But just before she had gone, Ruby had hugged Blake tightly, and it still made the older girl's heart skip a beat to think about it.

The two weeks that had separated the two of them only made Blake realize just how hopelessly far she had sunk into her crush on Ruby.

They had tried to get together two weekends ago, but Ruby had had too much homework to finish. Blake had been ready to go out and meet her that morning until a call came through with a guilty-sounding Ruby on the other end of the line, apologizing profusely. Blake told her it was fine, that she knew life got in the way sometimes, so they had postponed their meet-up for the next weekend.

However, that time it had been Blake with too much work, and she had been the one to cancel. "I'm really sorry," she had said on her call. "I hate to do this to you. I... hope you weren't looking forward to it too much."

_B__ecause I know _I_ was..._

Ruby's voice had been chipper, though Blake still heard a bit of sadness in her tone.

"No, it's okay! I mean... of course I'm a bit bummed because I want to see you!"

Blake had needed to stop writing her essay at the time and put a hand to her chest when she heard those words. Ruby had continued in an accepting voice:

"But like you told me, life gets in the way. It's okay. We can try again next weekend, okay? So don't worry about it! Just do what you have to do!" She had hung up her cell phone to leave Blake sighing heavily.

This all sounded a bit too familiar to Blake, how a friend would keep postponing or putting things off, how life kept them separate in every sense of the word until eventually their relationship was reduced to that of two strangers.

Blake refused – absolutely _refused_ – to let that happen with Ruby. Not her biggest fan who admired Blake's work with all her heart, not that adorable girl who cared about Blake more than anyone else in the world.

So she was doing everything she could to get her work and assignments done.

Presently, it was Friday afternoon, and she sat in her apartment at her desk, typing away fervently on an essay for one of her college classes. With the workload she had been given to complete this weekend, she knew it was impossible to meet with Ruby and get everything finished. Getting good grades wasn't an option; she _had _to.

But her feelings for Ruby weren't exactly her choice either. Ruby was more important to her than anything, and Blake had recently realized she was in love with the girl in a romantic sense. Even if Ruby didn't feel the same, Blake would be alright; she could be the second big sister next to Yang if she had to be.

As long as she kept seeing Ruby's energetic face, kept hearing her excited voice, kept feeling her warm hands, Blake would live.

She felt almost bad about her affections for the girl, almost as if she was doing something wrong by falling for a high school student.

_She probably only sees me as an older friend anyway. She wants someone who can help her through college when she gets there. She probably only hangs around me because I write her favorite series. I'm the author and she's just a fan. That's all we'll ever be._

Blake constantly tried to disillusion herself with these thoughts. Whenever she did, it hurt, but it felt necessary and often brought her back to reality to focus properly.

Of course, Blake wanted to keep meeting Ruby, no matter what kind of relationship they had or how the brunette thought of her.

Which was exactly why she was putting in so much effort into her assignments now. She had deduced that if she worked on things all this even and into tomorrow, she could have everything completed by Sunday for her date with Ruby.

So naturally, Blake didn't waste a single second. She never once went to open up her documents for recreational writings and more or less forced herself to stay on-task with her work.

She hadn't slept last night due to studying for an exam she had just finished today, one she had been so nervous about she had neglected to eat; she knew if she had, she would have been sick from anxiousness anyway. She had only drank a bottle of water today, but she promised herself in her mind that her reward for finishing her essay before midnight would be to raid her mini refrigerator across the room.

So she worked with unyielding concentration, flicking her desk lamp on when it got dark outside; she would have turned on the apartment's main light, but past 10PM the landlord's rules demanded they be turned off.

Blake adjusted her glasses on her nose. The glare from the computer screen and shine of the light was making her eyes water. But when she looked at the list of assignments she had yet to complete, she nearly choked. Somehow, it seemed like there was even more work than she had initially been given.

She worked on her first essay until 1AM, sitting back in her rolling chair once she had finished. She stapled everything together, taking a moment to stretch and fix her glasses again. Her eyes caught sight of the purple cat ears Ruby had bought for her a few weeks ago that sat on her desk, and it reminded her of the rewards if she could finish her work on time.

She would get to see Ruby on Sunday.

Blake rolled up her sleeves, about to get back to work when her cell phone went off. Flipping it open, her taut expression instantly softened into a small smile.

Ruby had messaged her:

**_Hiya, Blake~! Are we still on for Sunday?_**

Blake took a moment to glance at her stack of finished versus unfinished assignments. She could do it.

With speedy fingers she sent out her reply:

**_Of course. I'll see you at ten that morning. Now go to sleep!_**

A minute later, she received the reply:

**_Mmkay! You too!_**

Blake's fond smile remained on her lips a moment longer before she closed her phone. "Sorry," she murmured aloud as she turned back to face her laptop. "I can't do that just yet."

She worked hard all through the night, but her second essay required several hours' worth of research in addition to an outline, a bibliography, and work citations. On top of actually writing the paper itself, it ended up taking her until after 6AM.

Blake groaned when she finally put the staple into the top left corner, moving about to try and get the feeling back in her numbed limbs.

When she was writing for fun, she was probably one of the fastest people to type in all the world. Her fingers would fly over the keys effortlessly, as though chains had been lifted to release them. She hardly even had to think about what she wanted to say before she wrote it out.

But for schoolwork and assignments... she sometimes felt like she was a toddler, often staring at the screen dumbly for minutes at a time without writing anything. She would space out or end up deleting entire pages' worth of content after realizing none of it made any sense.

And when she typed for school, her hands moved at the pace of an average student's, if not slower, _nothing_ like the speed she worked at for her books.

She had made sure to revise the essays she had done last night, and now that the sun was beginning to rise, she decided she should take a break. She still had another project and a follow-up essay to write, but she had made a promise to Ruby a few months back to take better care of herself.

Although what she was doing right now wasn't exactly in line with that promise, Blake was going to make sure she did her best to be energetic tomorrow for their meet-up.

Realizing she hadn't changed clothes since yesterday, she grabbed a pair of fresh jean shorts and a violet blouse from her drawers along with clean undergarments before heading to the bathroom to shower.

She stood before the mirror as she untied her black bow, realizing how much the room seemed to be shifting around her. She needed to hold onto the sink for support, but even after she took off her glasses, it was no less dizzying.

The warm water against her back and over her shoulders served to soothe her a bit, but she could hardly even bring herself to wash her hair properly. She leaned heavily against the wall all the while, and only when she very nearly almost slipped and gave herself a concussion did she straighten up and be a bit more alert.

She finished up, stopping the water as she wrapped a towel around herself and stepped out.

The shower had woken her up a bit, but still she was exhausted. She wanted to nap, but knew she would end up ignoring her alarm and sleeping too much, thus not completing her assignments and consequently having to cancel on Ruby _again_.

_No, _she growled inwardly at herself. _And who knows the next chance we might get? What if one of us has too much work again next week? At this rate we'll drift apart and..._

She shook her head, feeling a sting behind her eyes, not wanting to think about something so dreadful.

Trying to keep her mind off the hurtful thoughts, Blake slowly got dressed, holding onto the sink all the while.

By the time she got back to her room, it was past 8AM. She went to the fridge and pulled out a tuna sandwich, but as she sat back down at her desk, she found she couldn't eat so much as a single bite. She felt a bit sick, and decided to save the food for later and instead opted just to drink a bit of water.

She adjusted her glasses again before starting on her next project for her science lab lecture.

At 9 o'clock, her phone went off again and she checked to find it was Ruby's message of "_Good morning!_" that she always sent Blake on weekends, since the older girl tended to sleep in until that time when she had no classes.

Blake stopped her work to reply, still promising Ruby she would be finished by tomorrow so they could meet. The amount of smiley faces and squiggles Ruby sent back demonstrated just how excited she was, too.

Blake wiped her eyes beneath the lenses of her glasses and continued to work.

She only paused in her efforts a few times to stand up and stretch, retreat to the bathroom, or make an effort to eat again. She managed a few bites of her sandwich, but overall didn't feel well enough to keep most of it down.

By 5PM, she had finished her project and begun on her final essay, vowing she would finish it before midnight and be sure to eat and sleep to be ready for tomorrow.

But her hands were sore and shaking, moving painfully slowly over the keys, and her brain was at its limit with thinking and constructing thoughts. Her stomach was yowling, but it hurt, and she couldn't bring herself to eat anymore.

Her eyes strayed to her phone, and she remembered what was at stake, what she had been working so hard for these past three days.

She wanted to see Ruby again.

Desperately, she forced her trembling hands to move, biting her lip as she fought against tears. She was trying _so_ hard, she just wanted to finish-

Blake felt hot, and no matter how much she wiped her forehead or drank her water, it never got better. But she kept going.

_I just wanna see her...!_

She ended up crying before much longer, feeling pathetic when she still hadn't finished her essay at 3AM. She knew her time was up and that she would never be able to meet Ruby like this in a few hours.

The _last_ thing she wanted was to cancel on her again.

Maybe if she could just get in a nap...

By 4 o'clock AM, Blake had finally finished, and her hands were more or less numb. She wiped her forehead, having drained her water bottle hours ago.

She wanted to text Ruby, and tell her she wouldn't be able to meet her today. But it was far too early to be texting her, and she wanted to let Ruby sleep.

Blake pushed herself up, swaying dangerously before collapsing back into her chair. She whimpered as pain shot through her stomach. She had neglected to eat and sleep before, but this was worse, probably the worst it had ever been.

_What am I doing? I promised Ruby... I wouldn't do this anymore..._

Guilt crashed over her like a fallen bookshelf as she struggled to stand again.

She listened to the sounds of the printer as her paper finished rolling out. She let go of the desk as she took a step to cross the room and retrieve it, but a dizzy spell assaulted her instantly.

Blake stumbled and fell to her knees, crying out meekly.

She made one last effort to get up, but it was useless.

Blake slumped onto her side, hitting the floor with a dull sound as her eyelids fell shut.

It was only a few seconds before her conscious faded.

_I'm sorry, Ruby..._

* * *

Ruby nearly leapt out of bed when her alarm went off on Sunday morning.

It was 9AM and she was going to meet Blake in an hour.

She threw the blankets off herself, grabbed her change of clothes and headed to the bathroom to freshen up.

Once ready, she headed to the kitchen where she ate a bowl of cereal and some toast with jam before downing a glass of milk.

Just as she was heading out the door, Yang limped down the stairs with a lovely bedhead. "Headin' out, lil' sis?"

"Yeah! I'm gonna meet up with Blake~!" she sang delightedly.

"Good, good." Yang waved with a sleepy smile. "Have fun."

"I will!"

Ruby all but skipped down the sidewalk to the cafe where they normally met up.

She arrived fifteen minutes before ten, taking a seat in the booth she and Blake had used last time.

Again, Ruby ordered drinks for the both of them, wiggling a little in her seat as she waited. She wanted to see that surprised look on Blake's face when she found out Ruby had ordered and prepared her tea for her again.

To Ruby, it didn't seem like very many people went out of their way for Blake's sake, and she wanted to be someone special to her. She really liked Blake, probably more than just a friend liked a friend, and even more than a fan liked the creator of her favorite series.

So why was Blake late today?

Ruby was under the impression she had been excited to meet up too, so why...?

She waited, sipping aimlessly at her coffee as 10 o'clock passed, then 10:30.

Ruby stared at her phone; none of the texts she had sent Blake had been answered.

By 11 o'clock, her shoulders had slumped dejectedly, and she paid for her drink and Blake's untouched one before heading out of the cafe.

The day was sunny and she felt she should have been smiling, but she couldn't bring herself to do so.

Instead, she felt she might cry.

She had... _really_ been looking forward to today.

She didn't want Blake and herself to grow apart after they had just started to get to know one another not very long ago. Ruby thought they had gotten closer, enough to be called friends.

That was probably why it hurt so much to have her messages ignored and to be stood up.

"No," she told herself as she walked. "No, I'm sure Blake's just doing work. She's always so diligent. She must've had a good reason." She perked up a little when she got an idea. "Maybe if I stop by her apartment, I can help her! That way we can still spend time together!"

She felt a surge of motivation come over her and changed her course. She had been to Blake's apartment once before a few months back and still vaguely remembered how to get there.

She repeated the number of Blake's room to herself and jumped up the stairs two at a time until she reached her companion's floor. Ruby sent one last text message, asking Blake to unlock the door if she was home.

But even after waiting several minutes there was no reply.

Ruby sighed as she stepped up to the door and knocked.

"Blake?" she called out. "Blake, are you home? Did something happen?" Maybe her phone wasn't working? Absentmindedly, Ruby tried the doorknob and her eyes widened in shock when she found it unlocked. "Blake, gosh! You've got to lock your door!" Ruby warned as she stepped inside. "Are you home?"

It would be even worse if Blake had gone out and left her apartment unlocked. But where could she have gone? Unless she had slept in and left for the cafe to meet Ruby already?

A dozen thoughts passed through the girl's mind as she closed the door behind her.

Something didn't feel right.

A creeping sense of dread filled Ruby's chest when she saw Blake's shoes and boots all still lined up by the door, and when she looked up, she saw lamplight coming from Blake's room, even though the sunlight through all the windows was certainly bright enough.

"B... Blake?" she called out again.

Ruby clutched her hands together as she walked forward slowly, her stomach twisting as an unsettling sensation washed over her.

She turned the the corner to peer into Blake's room and let out a shriek.

"B-_Blake?!_"

The older girl was lying on her side in an unnatural position on the floor, and Ruby instantly knew she hadn't simply fallen asleep on the carpet. She rushed to Blake's side and fell to her knees.

"Blake? Blake! _Blake!_"

Ruby was in tears already as she reached out to shake her gently. She remembered this had happened before, one time in the library. Ruby had watched Blake fall out of her chair, and the older girl had needed to go to the hospital.

At the time, Blake had been severely fatigued and malnourished, and she had been so pale.

But now...

"Blake... B-Blake?" Ruby whimpered, reaching out to lift the girl into her lap. "H-How long have you been like this? How long... oh my _gosh_..."

She choked on a sob when she touched Blake's face. Her cheeks were red, and a cold sweat beaded on her forehead. When she looked closer, Ruby could see tear trails running down her cheeks, and she was panting harshly through her mouth. Her shoulders were heaving weakly, and Ruby could feel her pulse, hard and fast in her chest, reverberating through her stomach and back.

"Blake... Blake, what do I do...?" Ruby hunched forward, hugging Blake to her gently, stroking fingers through her hair as she sobbed. "I-I don't know what to do..." she whispered. "Y-Yang! I should call Yang, or-or 9-1-1. You need an ambulance, y-you need help. Oh _god_..."

It was then she heard the unmistakable sound of a hungry stomach, and knew it was Blake's. Ruby could tell just by holding her shoulders how thin she felt.

Ruby sat up, sniffing deeply as she carefully removed Blake's glasses and put them aside. She was sweating so badly, she looked so weak...

Ruby scrambled for her phone, but just as she flipped it open to make a call, she felt Blake stir in her arms.

"Nn..."

A pained sound slipped past her lips, and Ruby instantly dropped her phone.

"Blake? Blake can you hear me? Hey..." She brushed her fingers through the girl's bangs, tucking her hair behind her ears. "Blake, c'mon please just open your eyes just be okay _please_..." she begged.

She waited anxiously as Blake flinched two, three times.

At last, her eyelids lifted to reveal dreary golden eyes. Her chest was still heaving, breath wheezing feebly as an ounce of recognition sparked in her gaze.

"R-Ruby..."

She was shivering now and Ruby quickly leaned down to hug her again.

"Oh god, th-thank god, Blake. I was so scared... Y-You didn't answer your phone a-and I came in to look for you and you were just lying on the floor and you were so still..." She sighed, feeling her tears seeping into Blake's shoulder. "W-What happened? Did you stop eating again? Did you stay up all night again and-and now... now you're..."

She broke down, hugging Blake tighter to her on her lap.

"Y-You're really sick now, Blake. You have a bad fever a-and your heart is pounding _really_ hard. You're shaking and you were crying and you can't even move..." she sobbed. "Y-You said you wouldn't let this happen again! You promised me you'd... that you wouldn't-! Blake..."

The older girl listened to Ruby's sobs, feeling a pang through her heart with every word, every accusation, as gentle as they were.

"I know..." she gasped. "I know, and I'm sorry, Ruby. I just... I just really w-wanted to see you today..." She closed her eyes, turning her face to bury it in Ruby's lap.

"I wanted to see you today too, Blake!" Ruby cried. "Of course I did! B-But not... not like _this!_" She sat up again, pulling away to pet through Blake's knotted hair softly, which Ruby assumed she hadn't dried properly after a shower, due to the damp spot all down the back of her shirt.

She rubbed Blake's shoulders gently with one hand as the other went to grasp Blake's fingers. "Your hands are shaking again. Really badly. I'm gonna call the hospital, y-you need medicine you need help-"

She made a move to lay Blake back onto the floor so Ruby could make the call, but she stopped when she felt a feeble grasp on her wrists.

"No, Ruby. It's alright."

"It's _not_, Blake!" she cried. "This is the second time this has happened and it's even worse now!"

"Ruby, it doesn't matter. I can't afford another hospital bill anyway."

"Then I'll pay!"

"No you won't," Blake said sternly, a bit of fire returning to her eyes as she denied the younger girl's offer.

"Then what can we do?!" Ruby wailed. "We have to do _something!_"

"Ruby, listen," Blake soothed, reaching up to stroke her cheek. "It's okay. I still have some prescription medicine from the last time, actually." She smiled softly before looking away. "Plus I just... I don't want to go back to the hospital..."

"Dummy!" Ruby sniffled. "Then why did you let this happen again?"

"Because-!" Blake felt her own tears welling up now. "Because I just... really wanted to see you..." she said again.

Ruby blinked, seeming to understand just how badly Blake had wanted to meet with her today, how hard she had worked solely to achieve that goal.

And now here she was in Ruby's arms, crying and limp and begging her not to send her off to a hospital where she would be probed and prodded and left alone.

Ruby looked into her eyes for a moment before speaking softly.

"Where's your medicine?"

Blake blinked away more tears.

"The... the bottom drawer on the left."

"...Okay," Ruby sighed. "I won't call the hospital."

"Thank you." Blake was clearly relieved and relaxed a little.

"I'm gonna take you to your bed, okay? Can you stand?" Ruby asked, wiping her sleeve over her eyes quickly.

"I'm not sure..."

"Okay. Then just try. And let me know if anything hurts or if I should stop, okay?"

Blake nodded and Ruby lifted her up, slinging her arm around her shoulders. Her other hand went to Blake's waist and slowly, Ruby got to her feet. Blake was worryingly easy to support, and she felt the college girl must weigh almost less than Ruby herself did.

Blake struggled to find her footing, hissing in pain as a twinge struck through her hollow stomach. Ruby froze instantly, flashing her a concerned look.

"I'm fine," Blake panted.

Ruby whimpered as she tried to bring Blake to her bed, but the older girl was shaking so badly she almost collapsed again. Ruby held tightly to her, desperately trying to keep her upright.

They managed to reach the bed where the brunette carefully let Blake down, receiving an appreciative smile in exchange for her efforts. Ruby helped lift Blake's legs onto the bed, fluffing her pillow and having her lean back against it. She was still shivering, so Ruby pulled the blankets over her as well.

But when she pressed the back of her hand to her forehead, Blake was sweltering, and Ruby panicked.

"I-I'll go get you some water to cool you down!"

Blake watched as she scurried off into the bathroom, returning a minute later with a wet wash cloth. She draped the cloth over Blake's forehead, and instantly a soothing chill came over her, canceling out some of the heat.

"Thank you," Blake sighed.

"Now I'm gonna get you something to eat, okay? I know it'll be hard for you, but you've gotta try to eat something, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded, watching Ruby run across the room.

But Blake found she couldn't keep her eyes open for very long, and closed them for a while.

In the meantime, Ruby went to the kitchen and found canned soup in the cupboard. After ten minutes, she brought a bowl of the finished product back into Blake's room, a small towel wrapped around the bottom to protect her hands. She also held a glass of water and some pills.

"Okay, Blake! It's- oop!" She cut off quickly when she realized Blake was resting.

Ruby placed the bowl and glass on her bedside table before carefully sitting on the edge of her bed. She brushed Blake's bangs away from her face and used the cloth on her forehead to dab away the residual sweat there.

Ruby's hands were still warm and clammy from holding the soup, so she knew if she tried to measure Blake's temperature this way, the heat from that would obscure how warm her friend really was.

_But whenever Yang and I were sick, Mom never really used her hand to feel our fevers,_ she recalled.

Ruby's heart fluttered at the alternative.

She considered trying one more time to use her hands, but the thought of kissing Blake's forehead made them get sweaty.

_I-I can do it! It's solely for the purpose of seeing if she's okay. Nothing else,_ she urged herself.

Biting her lip, she scooched closer to Blake until she could feel her breath. Ruby swallowed hard, begging the older girl not to wake up just yet as she squeezed her eyes shut and leaned down.

She pressed her lips against Blake's forehead and Ruby's mind was already spinning.

_I-I can't believe I'm doing this?! Oh my gosh..._

She pulled back sharply, realizing she hadn't even managed to decipher how feverish Blake was.

Shaking her head to clear it as best as possible, Ruby reached out to touch her shoulder instead.

"Blake? I made you some soup. Can you try to eat it?" she requested, shaking her gently.

Blake's eyelids fluttered open slowly, her irises out of focus without her glasses. But she seemed to quickly remember the events of the last hour, and nodded a little when she saw Ruby beside her.

"I'll try," she promised.

Ruby smiled softly, replacing the cool wash cloth on her forehead.

She then helped Blake sit up straight and the older girl freed her arms from the blankets.

Ruby handed her the glass first, helping her hold it as she swallowed down the pills.

Then Ruby gave her the spoon, but before she could reach for the bowl she stopped. Blake's arms were still trembling, and she couldn't even hold onto the spoon for more than a few seconds before it slipped through her fingers. There was fear in her eyes as she tried to curl her fingers - keep them steady - and failed to do so.

"R-Ruby..." she gasped. "I-I can't-"

"Hey, hey..." Ruby soothed, reaching out to catch her shaking hands. "It's okay. You must've written a lot of papers in the past few days so of course your hands will be like this, right? Last time you told me it was normal, remember?" She gave the girl's hands a squeeze before setting them down in her lap. "You're gonna be just fine," she promised.

Her words seemed to calm Blake, for her shoulders relaxed and she let out a sigh before a small smile curled her lips.

"Thank you, Ruby," she murmured.

"No need for thanks! Now let's get some soup in you!" Ruby held the bowl on her thigh with one hand as she dipped the spoon in with the other. "I'll feed you!"

She offered the spoonful to her companion with a grin; despite how flustered she was inside, she maintained her composure on the surface.

Blake blinked once before cautiously leaning forward to sip the spoon dry.

"Is that okay?" Ruby asked instantly. "It's not too hot, is it? There's lots of veggies in it so it should help you recover. Do you feel sick?" She looked ready to bolt for whatever reason to get Blake anything she needed, and Blake suppressed a chuckle.

"No. I'm fine, Ruby," she reassured. "The soup's delicious. And now I'm actually... really hungry," she confessed.

Ruby's silver eyes lit up like small cities.

"That's great! You need to eat! Here, have some more."

She offered spoonful after spoonful to Blake, all nervousness forgotten now that her companion had gotten her appetite back. Though Ruby seemed more confident now, Blake herself was blushing a bit harder; Ruby's smile was just _too cute_...

After a while, Blake managed to finish the soup entirely, and Ruby put the bowl aside with a grin.

"You did it, Blake! I'm glad you could eat it all! Are you still feeling okay?" Ruby fretted.

"Yes. I think I'll be fine by tomorrow," she nodded.

"You bet'cha you will! Cause I'm gonna take care of you for the rest of the day. I-I mean, if that's okay?" she added quickly.

Blake smiled softly.

"Honestly, there's no one else I'd rather have," she admitted. _I__... get to spend the rest of the day with her..._ she thought, feeling warmth in her cheeks.

Ruby must have noticed.

"Blake? Your face looks red again. Are you okay?"

"Y-Yes!" she all but squeaked.

"Are you sure?" The brunette frowned. She noticed how Blake was clutching at the blankets in her lap and her eyebrows furrowed. "Your hands are still shaking a lot. Here..."

Ruby reached for both of Blake's hands, noting that her suspicions were correct. Blake's fingers twitched in little spasms, and when Ruby's eyes met hers, she looked uncertain. But Ruby didn't want her feeling frightened like that; she couldn't bear to see Blake that way.

So she held her hands with a firm gentleness, stroking her fingers over the backs of her knuckles. She kept Blake's fingers steady with her own, rubbing and massaging them carefully.

Blake watched her, and as the minutes ticked by, she could feel her hands start to steady, less tremors running through them as Ruby continued to squeeze and hold them. Blake curled fingers against Ruby's palms slowly before uncurling them, gradually finding her ability to grasp again. Ruby encouraged her to move her fingers, entwining Blake's with her own in slow exercises.

About ten minutes later, the shaking had stopped altogether, and Blake blinked up at her in amazement.

"Ruby... thank you."

"I'm glad your hands are better!" She beamed, squeezing Blake's fingers again, relieved when she returned the motion strongly. But then Ruby frowned again. "But what about the rest of you? Here, let me have your arm. I wanna check your pulse," she declared, taking Blake's wrist. "Cause before... your heart was pounding really hard and it felt like it must've hurt..." she murmured.

Blake was silent as Ruby rolled up her sleeve and pressed two fingers against her wrist. Ruby made a concentrated expression as she counted the beats, but in her mind she was a mess.

_Oh gosh wait. W-What's the average beats per minute again? Crap uuuh... it's like... seventy-something? Is that at rest or during activity? Oh gosh I can't remember!_

She counted as best she could until a minute was up before she recoiled her hands. "It's uuh sixty-seven. I-I think that's good since you're not moving around. Either way, it's not as fast as it was before, so that's good."

"I think so, too," Blake nodded. "I'm feeling much better already. Really, Ruby."

The honesty was in her voice and her eyes, and it made Ruby sigh with relief. Without fully realizing what she was doing, Ruby leaned forward on the bed and wrapped her arms around Blake.

"I'm so glad!" she murmured, burying her face in soft, onyx hair.

Blake felt her heart skip a beat as Ruby pressed against her. She had hugged her when they had parted from their last get-together, but since then, Blake hadn't had any physical contact with another person.

When she thought about it, Ruby was probably the _only_ person to hug her within the past several months.

Blake felt a swell of emotion stinging behind her eyes. She didn't want Ruby to let go.

So Blake lifted her tired arms and returned the embrace.

Before Ruby could pull away and apologize for acting so rashly, she felt Blake's hands on her back and knew it was okay to stay there a while longer.

The younger girl was nervous, but she loved this, even more so than Yang's hugs.

Hugging Blake was different.

Ruby held her there for a moment, and Blake wasn't about to let her go either.

So the younger girl got comfortable, shifting closer to her. Blake's breathing wasn't as harsh as it had previously been, and her heart wasn't beating as roughly either. She sighed again, moving her hands slowly up and down Blake's back, over her taut shoulder blades and through her soft tresses.

Somewhere along the lines, Blake lost herself to the warm wetness behind her eyes, and she quietly started to cry. Ruby heard the little hiccups, felt Blake jolting slightly against her and tried to pull back and ask what was wrong.

But before she could, she felt the embrace around her back tighten, keeping her close. Blake's voice spoke softly in her ear.

"Thank you, Ruby. I... I know I broke my promise. I said I wouldn't... let this happen again, b-but I just... I wanted to see you so-"

"Hey, hey, it's okay!" Ruby relaxed when she realized Blake was crying because of this again, and not out of pain. "I get it, Blake. And you're okay now, so... I mean of course I don't want this to happen anymore ever ever ever again, okay?" She finally pulled back to look into Blake's eyes. "But I'm glad I got to see you today, and that I could take care of you and hug you like this!"

She was babbling now, but she couldn't stop even if she tried. "There's nothing that makes me happier than seeing you smile and being with you. I'm never going to brush you off or leave you or ignore you. I wanna be with you as much as possible Blake, because I love you!"

Blake had been getting lost in her kind words, and couldn't prevent herself from gasping aloud at Ruby's confession. She blinked away more tears as Ruby's eyes widened, realization washing over her.

"I-I mean-! I mean of course I love you, but like... it's not only in _that_ way, I-I mean I also do in _that_ way but t-that's not what I-"

"Ruby..." Blake rasped, golden eyes shimmering. "I... y-you love me?"

Ruby was frozen in place, her arms still partially around Blake as her gaze remained glued to hers.

"I-I mean, Bl-Blake... ah..." She felt more blood rush to her cheeks.

But something was telling her to say it clearly. She didn't want to jeopardize her relationship with Blake, but she also didn't want to keep this a secret.

She exhaled a long sigh before she continued in a softer tone.

"I... I love you, Blake. And I think it's more than just friends. It's like... it's like how Yang and Weiss love each other, but with less bickering, I guess. It's the kind of love where I want to h-hold your hand and k-kiss you and stuff. A-And I know you might think this is weird a-and I know I'm just a kid to you but- eep!"

She squeaked as Blake pulled her in again, tight and meaningful.

"Thank god!" she breathed.

"B-Blake?"

"I was worried..." the older girl murmured. "I was worried you couldn't feel the same way because of my age or something. Because I'm the author and you're a fan. I didn't think you'd love me in _that _way. I really didn't..."

Her heart was swelling with affection as she spilled her feelings aloud. "It's been _really_ hard for me since I met you because I... think I fell in love with you a long time ago. But I didn't think you would..." She shook her head, nuzzling into the front of Ruby's shoulder. "I love you too, Ruby. I have for a while now. I really... _really_ do..."

Ruby was unsure of how to react. She had seen how people in romantic relationships acted, but she had never been in one herself before. And to think it would be with Blake of all people, that _the_ Blake Belladonna would love her back...

It was Ruby's turn to cry as she pulled away again.

"Y-You... Blake, you really mean it?!" she peeped.

Blake smiled with a nod.

"Of course I do. I've loved you for a while now, Ruby. I've never felt like this before toward anyone else. It feels strange but... but I can't help it."

"Wow..." Ruby mumbled. "Wow, wow, _wow!_ Oh my gosh I-I can't believe-! B-Blake you really-!" She was bouncing a little from where she sat on the bed, tears streaming down her face and over her smile. Ruby quickly wiped her sleeve over her face, overcome with the urge to try something, to finally do _that_...

Blake seemed to comprehend her intentions, and she straightened her posture a bit more, taking a deep breath.

"Blake..." Ruby murmured. "I want to... c-can I-?"

Blake's only response was a nervous, and yet eager nod.

Ruby inhaled, holding onto Blake's shoulders as she leaned in and closed her eyes.

She pressed her lips against Blake's in a firm kiss, shy as it was. Ruby had never done this before, so she made sure not to be too rough, keeping the contact light and tentative at first.

Blake tried to calm herself as she returned the kiss, tried to remind herself this was_ really happening _and not just another whimsical dream. Ruby was _really_ kissing her, and Blake felt she might die of happiness. There was a faint taste of salt on her lips, and Blake couldn't help but smile a little.

It was soft, and so, so warm. She loved it. She loved _Ruby_.

More tears spilled down her cheeks and Ruby finally pulled away, also crying a bit harder.

"Wow..." she sniffled. "Wow, Blake I... w-we-!" She squealed again, throwing herself forward and squeezing her tightly. "I love you, Blake! I've loved you for a long, long time, and now-!"

Blake chuckled, sniffing again as she hugged her back.

"I guess this makes us girlfriends, huh?" She liked the sound of that.

Evidently, Ruby did, too.

"_Girlfriends!_ Oh wow, wow! Blake, you're my-! You're _my_-!" She squeaked again, nestling her face into the side of her neck.

"It's like a dream come true, isn't it?" Blake sighed; she felt she could understand Ruby's mirth perfectly.

"Not _like!_" Ruby corrected. "This _is_ a dream come true!" She pulled back and kissed Blake's forehead, followed by her nose, each cheek, and then her lips again, giggling a little all the while.

Blake felt a surge of joy as she kissed back again.

When they broke apart, she smiled up at Ruby.

"So, I guess from now on our dates will _really_ be dates, huh?"

"Gosh, Blake, _Blake_, I'm so happy!"

"Me too..." she sighed blissfully. "I'm still in shock, I guess."

At last, their jitters began to settle, and Ruby remembered exactly where they were again.

"Oh! I-I can stay for another few hours. Are you hungry? I can make you something! My first official task as your girlfriend!" She loved saying that word.

Blake shifted a bit, nodding slowly.

"Yeah. I am kind of hungry again."

"Okay! I'll make you something!" Ruby hopped up and retreated to the kitchen.

From then on, the hours passed with Ruby's excited humming as she helped Blake eat and restore her strength, giving her sweet kisses in between, simply because she _could_.

She brushed Blake's hair for her, playing with it before she snuggled into her back with a laugh.

When evening finally came, Ruby announced she had to take her leave.

She sat on the edge of Blake's bed again and moved close to her. "You shouldn't go to school tomorrow if you're still feeling dizzy, okay? I'm gonna be worrying about you all day, so make sure you call me! A-And maybe if you're up for it we can... meet up afterward?"

Blake's eyes were alight with a new spark as she nodded.

"I think I'll be fine now. Today you've helped me in more ways than you could know. I feel so refreshed and happy. I can't wait till tomorrow if it means seeing you again."

"Yeah! Me, too!" Ruby nodded. "We can go get coffee and tea and cake and pie again!"

"That sounds great," Blake agreed.

"You're _sure_ you're gonna be okay?" Ruby checked.

"I really am. And I promise this time I mean it." Blake gave the younger girl's wrists a tug and kissed her gently. "Okay?"

"Okay." Ruby smiled shyly. "Then you get some sleep and I'll call you tomorrow and we can meet up again!" She helped arrange the pillows and blankets so Blake could lie down.

"Alright." Blake smiled back. "Thank you again, Ruby. I still can't believe..."

"Me neither~" she giggled. "But you get some rest now, okay?" Ruby leaned down and kissed Blake's cheek again.

"I will. And I'll see you tomorrow," she murmured. "I love you, Ruby."

It felt good to finally say it out loud to her.

"I love you too, Blake," she whispered before kissing her again. When it was over, she stood. "See you tomorrow!" Ruby headed toward the door, blowing more kisses as she went. "Get some sleep and call me and I love you!" she babbled again.

Blake watched her go, listened to the little squeaks that accompanied her hyper footsteps as she descended the stairs.

Blake closed her eyes and sighed, recounting the events of the day.

Ruby's warm hugs and soft kisses still lingered in her heart and on her lips, but Blake could fall asleep with a smile now that she knew there would be many more to come.

* * *

**A/N: Make sure you don't be like Blake and neglect your health! Because not everyone's lucky enough to get a cute Ruby to take care of them ;~;**

**Please review!**


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